AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT
SELF-STUDY REPORT
[MONTH YEAR]
Written in preparation for the [UNIT NAME] Review
[DATE OF REVIEW VISIT]
Contributions by:
[NAME, TITLE]
[NAME, TITLE]
[NAME, TITLE]
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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 4
I. THE UNIT PROFILE ...................................................................................................................................... 5
1. Brief History .......................................................................................................................................... 5
2. Mission .................................................................................................................................................. 5
a. Unit Mission ...................................................................................................................................... 5
b. Alignment with University Mission ................................................................................................... 5
3. Unit Structure and Governance ............................................................................................................ 5
a. Organizational Chart ......................................................................................................................... 5
b. Governance and Policies ................................................................................................................... 5
c. Morale, Attitude and Culture ............................................................................................................ 5
4. Unit Contribution to the University ...................................................................................................... 6
a. Unit Contribution to University Strategic Plan.................................................................................. 6
b. Unit Contribution to Teaching .......................................................................................................... 6
c. Unit Contribution to Research .......................................................................................................... 6
5. Entities Served ...................................................................................................................................... 6
II. Services and Functional Responsibilities................................................................................................... 6
1. Required Functions of the Unit ............................................................................................................. 6
2. Unit Operational Processes................................................................................................................... 6
3. New Projects and Initiatives ................................................................................................................. 6
III. Internal and External Collaboration ......................................................................................................... 6
1. Collaboration inside the unit................................................................................................................ 6
2. Collaboration with other units .............................................................................................................. 6
3. Collaboration with the community and professional organizations .................................................... 7
IV. Unit Planning and Assessment ................................................................................................................ 7
1. Unit Planning Process............................................................................................................................ 7
2. Unit Vision and Goals ............................................................................................................................ 7
3. Unit Outcomes/ Objectives ................................................................................................................... 7
4. Unit Outcomes/Objectives Assessment................................................................................................ 7
5. Customer Satisfaction ........................................................................................................................... 7
6. Action Plan ............................................................................................................................................ 7
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7. Benchmarking ....................................................................................................................................... 8
a. Standards and Best Practices ............................................................................................................ 8
b. Peer Institutions ................................................................................................................................ 8
V. Existing Unit Resources ............................................................................................................................. 8
1. Human Resources ................................................................................................................................. 8
2. Space and Facilities ............................................................................................................................... 9
3. Equipment and Technology .................................................................................................................. 9
4. Other Resources and Assets ................................................................................................................. 9
5. Budget ................................................................................................................................................... 9
VI. Report on Improvements ........................................................................................................................ 9
1. Unit Strengths ....................................................................................................................................... 9
2. Unit Weaknesses ................................................................................................................................... 9
3. Needs Assessment .............................................................................................................................. 10
4. Issues and Challenges ......................................................................................................................... 10
5. Response to Previous Recommendations........................................................................................... 10
6. Past Accomplishments ........................................................................................................................ 10
7. Current/Planned Improvements ......................................................................................................... 10
VII. Additional Needed Resources............................................................................................................... 10
1. Human Resources ............................................................................................................................... 10
2. Space and Facilities ............................................................................................................................. 11
3. Equipment and Technology ................................................................................................................ 11
4. Other Resources and Assets ............................................................................................................... 12
5. Budget ................................................................................................................................................. 13
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................ 14
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In one page, summarize the major highlights included in self-study report and describe the process of
writing this report. Mention the main contributors to the report. Indicate the main purpose of this report
and the major recommendations resulting from it.
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I. THE UNIT PROFILE
1. Brief History
Mention the main milestones of the unit since its existence.
2. Mission
a. Unit Mission
Include your unit mission and where it can be found and how it is communicated to the unit staff and
constituents.
b. Alignment with University Mission
Describe how your unit mission is aligned with the University mission.
AUB Mission Statement:
The American University of Beirut (AUB) is an institution of higher learning founded to provide excellence
in education, to participate in the advancement of knowledge through research, and to serve the peoples
of the Middle East and beyond. Chartered in New York State in 1863, the university bases its educational
philosophy, standards, and practices on the American liberal arts model of higher education. The
university believes deeply in and encourages freedom of thought and expression and seeks to foster
tolerance and respect for diversity and dialogue. Graduates will be individuals committed to creative and
critical thinking, life-long learning, personal integrity, civic responsibility, and leadership.
3. Unit Structure and Governance
a. Organizational Chart
What is the unit’s organizational structure? (Include your organizational chart showing all the subunits
and the reporting hierarchy).
Is this form of organization appropriate to meeting the unit’s goals and objectives?
b. Governance and Policies
List any policies and procedures related to your unit. Who is responsible for updating and implementing
them? Assess whether these policies and procedures are up to date according to the Policies and
Procedures Review Committee (PPRC) guidelines. Where can these policies and procedures be found?
Include an assessment of the unit’s compliance with applicable governing regulations, professional
standards, and internal policies and procedures. Do you need to add more policies and procedures?
c. Morale, Attitude and Culture
Describe the attitudes and perceptions of unit personnel in relation to the work environment. What is the
general morale, attitude, values, and culture of the unit? You can make use of Employee Satisfaction
Survey results.
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4. Unit Contribution to the University
a. Unit Contribution to University Strategic Plan
Provide evidence of goals accomplished and yet to be accomplished and describe how they will
specifically support AUB institutional mission, goals and strategic priorities and initiatives. What changes
do you want to make to improve your unit’s contributions to the University?
b. Unit Contribution to Teaching
How does your unit contribute towards meeting the teaching needs of the students and faculty?
c. Unit Contribution to Research
How does your unit contribute towards advancing research at AUB?
5. Entities Served
To what groups/individuals are the unit services directed to? (Example: students, staff, faculty, alumni,
patients, donors, other units, etc.)
How does the unit make beneficiaries aware of available services?
II. Services and Functional Responsibilities
1. Required Functions of the Unit
List all the functions/services provided by your unit. Who is responsible for implementing and overseeing
these functions?
2. Unit Operational Processes
Describe any internal processes performed by your unit. Example: Book acquisition process, student
elections process, etc. You may include in the appendix samples of your work portfolio for assessment of
the quality of work produced.
3. New Projects and Initiatives
Mention any new projects and initiatives that were started by your unit. How do these projects and
initiatives serve AUB?
III. Internal and External Collaboration
1. Collaboration inside the unit
How do different groups/entities collaborate within the unit? Is there a defined process for
communication within the unit? Are duplicate or parallel services offered inside the unit? Describe any
overlap and discuss what changes might be indicated (e.g., centralization, coordination, elimination of
duplication).
2. Collaboration with other units
For services provided by the unit in conjunction with other units within the university, please describe the
relationship. How is the work coordinated between or among units? How can such relations be
facilitated? Are duplicate or parallel services offered elsewhere in the university?
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Describe any overlap and discuss what changes might be indicated (e.g., centralization, coordination,
elimination of duplication).
3. Collaboration with the community and professional organizations
In what ways does the unit contribute to the larger community (including partnerships with professional
organizations, peer universities, non-profit organizations and other community members)? Please
provide evidence.
IV. Unit Planning and Assessment
1. Unit Planning Process
Please describe your unit planning process. How does the unit make decisions, set priorities, plan
strategically, and assess its functions and services?
2. Unit Vision and Goals
State your unit’s vision and list the key goals that need to be achieved to fulfill your vision.
3. Unit Outcomes/ Objectives
Based on your Strategic Plan and/or Unit Outcomes Assessment Report, please list your unit’s objectives
and/or unit outcomes.
4. Unit Outcomes/Objectives Assessment
For each objective and/or outcome identified identify:
a) The key performance indicators that are used to determine how well the unit meets the objective
and/or the outcome
b) The intended target or level of performance with respect to these Key Performance Indicators
c) The frequency at which data is gathered
d) The frequency at which results are analyzed, conclusions drawn, and, as needed, improvements
identified and enacted.
Please include your unit outcomes assessment reports with the results in the Appendix.
5. Customer Satisfaction
How does your unit measure customer satisfaction?
Please include a summary of the results of satisfaction surveys used to evaluate services, or data
collected from affected constituents to provide feedback on performance, as applicable, over several
planning, assessment and evaluation cycles.
Please include all satisfaction results in the Appendix.
6. Action Plan
Based on assessment and customer satisfaction results, list the actions needed to improve efficiency,
effectiveness, and unit performance. Indicate whether these actions have been implemented, are in
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progress, or are planned to be initiated in the future. How are these actions linked to resource allocation
requests?
7. Benchmarking
a. Standards and Best Practices
Is your unit a member of any professional organization?
Mention professional bodies that your unit relies on to stay up-to-date with standards and best practices
relevant to your services.
Are there any foreseen modifications that may be needed to meet standards?
b. Peer Institutions
Compare your unit structure, services and resources with those of peer institutions.
How does your unit meet current and potential future trends? Are there any foreseen modifications that
may be needed in light of this comparison?
V. Existing Unit Resources
1. Human Resources
Please fill in the following table describing your staffing profile (Indicate the number in terms of FTE. In
other words a full time staff person is a 1, and a half time person is a 0.5)
Staffing Levels for Each of the Previous Five
Years
Position
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Anticipated total
staff needed
2017
2018
Management Staff
Below Grade 12 Staff
Part-Time Staff
Faculty FTE Full time
Faculty FTE Part time
Total Full Time Equivalent
Has the workload of your unit increased in recent years?
Has technology made it possible to do more work with the same staff? Or, has technology increased
your work load (adding web features which need updating for example)?
Does the workload have significant peaks during the fiscal year that would be best filled by part time
staff?
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Do employee skills match the unit’s needs? What kind of training or cross-training is necessary? Is there a
regular mechanism for providing training?
2. Space and Facilities
Describe the space and facilities you unit occupies. How much space is allocated for your unit? How much
of this space is currently utilized? (Example: Space utilization, Area in m2)
Describe the condition of the facility and include relevant metric (example Facility Condition Index,
Replacement Value of facility).
Include the cost of operations of your facilities (example energy and maintenance metrics).
3. Equipment and Technology
Summarize the currently available labs, computers, software and equipment that your unit offers for the
AUB community.
Summarize the currently available computers, software and equipment used by the staff in your unit.
How much is the operating cost of equipment and technology at your unit? What are the most expensive
items to operate?
How much is the cost for maintenance and repair of equipment and technology at your unit? What are
the most expensive items to maintain?
4. Other Resources and Assets
What other resources and assets does your unit have?
5. Budget
Provide a budget allocation and expenditure summary for the past five fiscal years and a copy of your
most recent internal audit (if available). Distinguish between capital and operating budget needs.
Indicate how financial resources are spent on each of your core activities.
List the available funding sources that your unit has benefited from. How much grants were provided in
the past five year by each of these funding sources?
VI. Report on Improvements
1. Unit Strengths
Identify the positive aspects of the unit’s operation. What are the strengths of your unit as identified by
external sources, faculty, staff, students or other stakeholders?
2. Unit Weaknesses
Identify areas in which the unit needs improvement. What are the weaknesses of your unit as identified
by external sources, faculty, staff, students or other stakeholders?
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3. Needs Assessment
How does the unit learn about needs of its stakeholders and obtain feedback regarding service delivery?
Are there services that your stakeholders need which the unit cannot provide?
What would the unit need to be able to provide these services?
4. Issues and Challenges
Describe the issues and challenges hindering potential improvement.
5. Response to Previous Recommendations
Describe changes the unit has made in response to prior internal or external reviews or assessment
results and the impact of these changes on the delivery of services and/or the alignment of services with
institutional priorities.
6. Past Accomplishments
What are the unit's notable accomplishments over the past 10 years?
7. Current/Planned Improvements
Reflect on all parts of your self-study and list the major improvements that you plan to make in order to
improve the quality of your service.
VII. Additional Needed Resources
1. Human Resources
Please list additional human resources needed for future growth or continuation.
List Staff Positions Needed for Academic Year______________
Place titles on list in order (rank) or importance.
1.
Reason:
2.
Reason:
3.
Reason:
4.
Reason:
5.
Reason:
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Indicate
(N) = New or
(R) =
Replacement
Annual
TCO*
6.
Reason:
* TCO = “Total Cost of Ownership” for one year is the cost of an average salary plus benefits for an
individual.
Does your unit require additional resources for staff/professional development?
2. Space and Facilities
Please indicate new space and facilities needs for future growth or continuation
List Space and Facilities Needs for Academic Year_______
Place items on list in order (rank) or importance.
Annual TCO*
Total Cost of Ownership
1.
Reason:
2.
Reason:
3.
Reason:
4.
Reason:
5.
Reason:
6.
Reason:
*Please contact the Director of Facilities to obtain an accurate cost estimate and to learn if the facilities you need are
already in the planning stages.
3. Equipment and Technology
Please indicate new equipment and technology needs for future growth or continuation.
List Equipment and Technology Needs for Academic
Year_______
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Annual TCO**
Please be as specific and as brief as possible.
Place items on list in order (rank) or importance.
Cost per
item
Number
Requested
Total Cost
of
Ownership
1.
Reason:
2.
Reason:
3.
Reason:
4.
Reason:
5.
Reason:
6.
Reason:
** TCO = “Total Cost of Ownership” for one year is the cost of an average cost for one year.
4. Other Resources and Assets
Please indicate what additional resources and assets are needed for future growth or continuation
List Other Resources and Assets Needed for Academic
Year_______
Please be as specific and as brief as possible.
Place items on list in order (rank) or importance.
1.
Reason:
2.
Reason:
3.
Reason:
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Annual TCO**
Cost per
item
Number
Requested
Total Cost
of
Ownership
4.
Reason:
5.
Reason:
6.
Reason:
5. Budget
Please indicate what additional budget is needed for future growth or continuation.
Distinguish between capital and operating budget needs.
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APPENDICES
A. Unit outcomes assessment reports
B. Customer Satisfaction Survey Results
C. Portfolio of Work Samples (optional)
Portfolio of work samples can be included for units such as University Publications or other units
where an assessment of the quality of work produced may be desirable.
D. Other Appendices that your unit sees fit.
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